Family

We now know why former Broadway star Pia Zadora was arrested in Vegas over the weekend ... she allegedly tried to choke out her son ... TMZ has learned.

Zadora -- who famously appeared in the Academy Award disaster scene in "Naked Gun 33⅓" -- got into an argument Friday night with her 16-year-old son Jordan because he refused to go to bed at a timely hour.

Jordan told police he wanted to stay outside and talk to his stepbrother, so Zadora sprayed them with a hose to force them inside.

Jordan told cops his stepbrother tried to calm Pia down and she attacked him, punching him and scratching his face.

An hour or 2 passed, and -- according to the police report -- Jordan tried calling 911. He claims Pia tried to take his phone away, choking him in the process.

When cops arrived, they say everyone in the house -- Pia, her son and stepson, as well as her husband -- refused to come out to speak to them ... so SWAT formed a perimeter around the house.

Joe Simpson's quite a forgiving guy ... 'cause Jessica's dad tells TMZ he would still have a beer with Nick Lachey ... even after his daughter's ex-hubby TRASHED him on national television.

It was just last month that Nick went on "Watch What Happens Live" and told Andy Cohen ... the best part of divorcing Jessica was not having to play grab ass under the table w/ Joe at family events.

But Joe -- who hit up Greystone Manor with 3 pretty hot chicks this weekend -- told us he still "loves" Nick after the diss ... and praised him for being a good husband to his daughter.

Sidenote -- at one point in the video, Joe's hot friend in the pink dress addresses the gay rumors ... even though nobody really asked her. So, check that out.

Move over Dollywood ... Jermaine Jackson has his eye on a Jackson-family themed resort -- but it's not so much an homage to Michael as it is to the Jackson with the best name -- Jermaine's son Jermajesty.

Michael Jackson's older brother told The National he's been scouting locations for a 5-star hotel he wants to call "Jermajesty" ... very possibly in Abu Dhabi.

The resort would have Jackson memorabilia displayed everywhere, but don't go online just yet to book your reservation ... Jermaine says the project is in its infancy.

Dina Lohan says she's come West to support daughter Lindsay Lohan who is struggling to get better in rehab -- but hey, if she can make a buck along the way -- or 50,000 of them -- why not?

As we told you ... Dina and Michael Lohan went nuclear on each other Thursday during a taping of a new show that uses lie detectors to settle disputes. Dina and Michael were at each other's throats over Lindsay, infidelity ... the usual.

So why would Dina and Michael go on a show? To help Lindsay get better? Unlikely. To settle their differences? That's never gonna happen. The reason is simple. Dina got $50 grand, and it didn't feel dirty because we're told she got Lindsay's permission in advance.

We're told Dina plans to use the money to bail herself out of the financial mess over the family's Long Island home, which has been teetering on the edge of foreclosure.

Bernadette Hernandez -- mother of Bruno Mars -- died unexpectedly Saturday at the age of 55.

Hernandez suffered a brain aneurysm. She passed away at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hernandez was a hula dancer and singer who immigrated from the Philippines and nurtured Mars' musical talents from a very young age.

Whyyyyy wouldn't Dina Lohan take a lie detector test on national television? Because she's a liar who has something to hide ... so says Michael Lohan.

Our photog spotted Lindsay Lohan's dad at LAX on Friday and asked him all about the nuclear fight he had with Dina ... after their appearance on talk show called "The Test" turned into an all-out bash fest.

As TMZ previously reported ... Michael and Dina went on the show -- which utilizes lie detectors and DNA tests to help guests resolve conflicts -- to hash out their past. Michael submitted to two polygraphs, while Dina submitted to zero. Each side left the show pissed off and accusing the other of lying.

Crazy week for celebrities ... and speaking of crazy, we gotta ask ...

It's bigger than the Super Bowl ... so it makes total sense that the 13-year-old winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee plans to celebrate his victory by going to Disney World.

Arvind Mahankali won the competition last night on live TV -- correctly spelling the word "knaidel" (look it up) -- and his father tells TMZ, Disney World was Arvind's one request after he was crowned champion.

Arvind's dad says the family is planning to go during the summer -- and Arvind says he desperately wants a photo with Mickey Mouse.

Arvind tells us, "[Mickey is] really the only Disney character I know of." (Seriously, the kid can spell "knaidel" ... but he can't remember Goofy?)

As for the people saying Arvind didn't look too excited when he won -- Arvind tells us, he WAS excited ... it just took him a while for the reality to set in.

UFC legend Tito Ortiz claims Jenna Jameson is lying through her teeth ... telling TMZ her allegations that he physically attacked her while abusing drugs are complete B.S..

Jenna went on a Twitter rampage yesterday ... claiming Tito beat her up and "almost killed" her ... and "faked" drug tests in order to fight in the UFC.

Jenna tweeted several pictures of prescription drug bottles and syringes -- insinuating they belonged to Tito.

During the Twitter session, Jenna also claimed Tito is unfairly trying to strip her of custody of their 4-year-old twin boys.

Now, Tito is finally responding to Jenna's allegations ... telling us, "The unfortunate allegations being made against me are simply not true."

He adds, "I would never do anything to jeopardize my family. Being a great father and protecting the well-being of my children remains my top priority."

"I thank my family, friends, and fans for their kind words of support at this time. For my children's sake, I appreciate you respecting our privacy."

As we reported, Jenna and Tito's twins are currently under the sole care of their father following a nuclear confrontation over custody last month.

So much for new beginnings ... Dina and Michael Lohan's temporary ceasefire came to an explosive end today in L.A. ... after the two went nuclear on each other on the set of a talk show.

Sources tell TMZ, Dina and Michael were taping a segment for "The Test" -- a conflict-resolution talk show launching this fall that uses lie detectors and DNA tests to settle disputes -- when things went South.

We're told things started out great -- but soon the finger pointing began ... and when the topic of infidelity came up, the gloves flew off.

According to sources, both Michael and Dina accused each other of lying about their past ... as well as who's really responsible for Lindsay's downward spiral ... and the whole thing ended in a firestorm. We're told Michael took two lie detector tests, but Dina refused to take any.

Now Dina and Michael -- who seemed to bury the hatchet during a burger date on Wednesday -- are back on terrible terms.

As we reported, Lindsay's treatment at Betty Ford involves family counseling -- and while both parents said they wanted to cooperate ... it looks like it's not gonna happen.

United Airlines has just been accused of allowing a male passenger to masturbate next to a 17-year-old girl on board one of its flights last year.

Monica Amestoy -- now 18 -- has filed a lawsuit against UA, claiming she was flying back to L.A. from a high school debate tournament in New York last October when the incident occurred.

According to Amestoy, represented by Gloria Allred, a male passenger seated across the aisle from her exposed his penis to her during the flight ... and masturbated.

Amestoy says she complained to a flight attendant multiple times -- and the flight attendant did nothing to stop the man from continuing his behavior ... she wasn't moved, and the passenger wasn't addressed in any way.

Amestoy says the man briefly stopped masturbating while the flight attendant was nearby, but quickly resumed once the flight attendant left.

According to Allred, the man in question has since been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted in connection with the alleged crime. Allred says the man has also been ordered to register as a sex offender.

Looking like the latest Kardashian TV show spin-off, movie director M. Night Shyamalan brought along his gorgeous brunette wife and three daughters to the premiere of "After Earth" in New York City on Wednesday.

While the 42-year-old "The Sixth Sense" filmmaker has not revealed any plans to exploit his beautiful brood by having a bunch of cameras follow them around documenting every single scripted scenario, you never know what kind of last minute twist M. Night might have up his sleeve.

5:20 PM -- Both sides have rested their case, which is now in the hands of the judge. We're told a ruling could take up to 60 days.

4:30 PM -- Nash just finished his turn on the stand ... saying his ex-wife has been making it EXTREMELY difficult to see his kids in Phoenix ... so it makes NO SENSE that she wants to move to L.A. so they can see him more often.

Nash said he sees the kids in Arizona at LEAST as much as would in L.A. ... and maintained that her only motivation for moving is so California courts can nail him for child support -- which he says would really only support her lavish taste.

“A major reason we divorced was her incessant spending, social climbing, materialism,” he said.

Nash testified about several occasions when Alejandra made it difficult for him to see 8-year-old twin girls Lola and Bella, and 2-year-old son Matteo Joel … including a Christmas homestand, when Nash wanted his girlfriend to escort the kids on a flight to L.A.

“She had none of that,” Nash said.

Nash said he can totally afford child support ... he just doesn't want it to ruin his kids: “I don’t want my high-privileged lifestyle ... to be an artificial environment.”

Steve Nash -- who plays for the LOS ANGELES Lakers -- just trashed L.A. in open court ... claiming the City of Angels is NO PLACE to raise a family.

Nash slammed L.A. on the stand in his legal war with ex-wife Alejandra ... saying point blank, "I don't want my kids to grow up in L.A."

The legal battle has raged for more than a decade ... but Anna Nicole Smith's estate may finally see a piece of the Playboy legend's millionaire dead husband ... possibly as much as $49 MILLION.

The Supreme Court ruled years ago that Anna's estate was NOT entitled to any of J. Howard Marshall's fortune -- estimated between $500 million and $1 billion -- but yesterday, a California judge said Anna's 6-year-old daughter Dannielynn is entitled to sanctions against Marshall's family.

The judge hasn't specified the amount of the sanctions yet ... but previously suggested they could run as high as $49 million.

The judge awarded the sanctions based on allegations that attorneys for Marshall's estate used unsavory tactics throughout litigation ... such as concealing crucial legal docs from Anna's estate lawyers.

Steve Nash is NOT trying to weasel out of paying child support to his ex-wife ... this according to Nash's attorney who tells TMZ accusations to the contrary are "absolute nonsense."

Nash and his lawyer Robert Schwartz just strolled back into a Maricopa County courtroom in AZ ... where they're set to do battle with Steve's ex-wife Alejandra for the 2nd day in their nasty child support war.

As we previously reported, Alejandra believes the Lakers star is trying to block her from moving with their 3 kids from PHX to L.A. because Steve doesn't want to pay child support. As we reported, Nash is not paying child support in Arizona, but if his wife and kids move to California a judge would likely make a significant dent in Nash's wallet.

On his way into court, Steve didn't want to talk about the allegation -- but his lawyer did ... saying, "That is absolute nonsense and it's not accurate at all."

Alejandra arrived to court soon after.

We're told the judge is expected to deliver a ruling in the case by the end of the day.

It's like a peace pipe with ketchup -- Dina and Michael Lohan buried the hatchet Wednesday night over burgers ... for the sake of their daughter.

Our spies tell us ... Lindsay Lohan's extremely dysfunctional parents had dinner at the W Hotel in Hollywood, and it seemed like it went beyond concern for their daughter.

We're told Dina and Michael were laughing a lot and visibly friendly. We're told they spent time talking about Lindsay and mending the family.

Dina's mood obviously changed a lot in a matter of hours -- earlier in the day at LAX, she sounded a lot less enthusiastic about Michael visiting Lindsay.